Mayors Of London, Manchester, Liverpool Region Urge May To Take No-Deal Brexit Off Table

Sumaira FH Published January 15, 2019 | 05:29 PM

The mayors of London, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and leader of Newcastle City Council urged UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday to fully abandon the possibility of a no-deal Brexit scenario, citing potential serious economic consequences for the cities

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2019) The mayors of London, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and leader of Newcastle City Council urged UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday to fully abandon the possibility of a no-deal Brexit scenario, citing potential serious economic consequences for the cities.

"For our great cities and their surrounding towns and communities, a no-deal Brexit would be an economic disaster. It would mean losing growth, losing jobs, and losing money. It is unacceptable to play poker like this with people's livelihoods and with their public services... We all have an urgent need to be more competitive and better prepared for trade post-Brexit. Government must provide a Brexit deal to enable those preparations," the joint letter said.

The statement was signed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, leader of Newcastle City Council Nick Forbes, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, and Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram.

The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on March 29, but the UK parliament has yet to vote on the withdrawal agreement.

This vote is scheduled for later in the day, but there is speculation that it will not go in May's favor, as a number of members from her Conservative party have voiced concerns over the deal, and the opposition Labour party is generally expected to oppose it.

If the deal fails to pass, May will have to submit an alternative solution to parliament within three days.

On Monday, May said that the parliament's rejection of the her deal could result either in a no-deal exit or no Brexit at all.